Mad God

It was early in the morning, and the air was still chilly as the sun slowly rose above the horizon. The city of Kovartz was just about to start waking up. The city itself was always late to receive the sun's warming rays as it lay below sea level, and the reason for that was part of an ancient legend. There is a famous tale that a long time ago, a star fell from the sky, landing exactly here, creating a huge crater. Later on, it became an open mine, and soon after, the city of Kovartz was formed. In reality, nobody knows what created the deep basin that gave home to the capital city of the Pilta Kingdom.

The mining town that was the precursor for today's city was abandoned and reopened throughout history multiple times before. Finally, the ruling family of Pilta moved their royal bloodline here. Right after losing their previous capital to the neighboring Olgor Kingdom in a dispute 800 years ago. Since then, Kovartz has been rebuilt from the ground up, and it has become a unique city spanning the whole circumference of the basin. The royal palace was situated on the highest, southern part, built on an artificial terrace, looking over the entire city from an elevated point, casting a shadow over multiple rows of buildings.

"The shape of this damned rat nest is like a fucking pissbowl…!" rang out a clearly drunk voice from one of the balconies of the royal palace.

Multiple floors high up, the current King in name, the young, barely 16-year-old Qin, was cursing loudly, looking over 'his' city. He only became the ruler a few years ago, and now he could not even stand still, swaying left and right, wearing nothing but a towel around his waist. His father died the day of the competition between the Immortal Wonders Sect and Heaven's Gate, killed by an Ironclaw assassin in the erupting chaos. He was immediately put onto the throne, given no chance to mourn but to go through dozens of ceremonies to crown him as the new ruler. The day he was made to sit on the throne, he could still feel his father's warmth on it. Yet all of the ceremonies were only a farce as he was not seen as an adult until he reached 18 years of age. Until then, he would be represented by someone else… and that someone else was his uncle. The moment Qin became king, he was imprisoned in his own palace, and his uncle took control as a regent.

"Regent, my ass…" he threw his head back, emptying another wine bottle into his mouth, already seeing double, yet the morning barely started. "I heard him introducing himself as the King… that bastard! That is my father's title, you fat fuck!" He roared to nobody, throwing the bottle against the wall before kicking himself in the shin, trying to take only a step forward, falling face down. He was moaning in pain, lying on the cold floor, crying and cursing. "If there are gods above… let this damned city be swallowed up by darkness…." He murmured, turning onto his back and looking at the sky with an almost empty look in his eyes.

What he soon realized was that something was really not right. The sky should be blue above them. Maybe gray if there were thick clouds high above… but… it was turning violet. Then black. He was not the only one who saw it as people were horrified to see how everything was slowly plunged into darkness as a black veil descended from above. They went from having a clear morning to the darkest hour before dawn in only a minute.

"Ah… ahaha… ahahahahaha!" Qin laughed maniacally, sitting up, crawling to the balcony's railing, and trying to pull himself up. He was stretching his hands up towards the blackness. "Yes! Yeees! Take me away! Ahahahaha!"

What he did not see was Ariana's figure standing above the basin, looking down at the whole city. At the same time, her aura spread out, slowly materializing as a black curtain covering everything below her. The scare that people received was much bigger than the actual danger they were in. Her spell's only purpose was to point out Ariana, who was the true royalty inside Kovartz. Thousands of people's feelings rushed into her mind, yet she easily sorted them out. She did not just identify the royal bloodline but read Qin's emotions flooding outwards. Getting a complete picture of the palace's layout, she slowly opened her eyes, focusing on the balcony where Qin was tethering on the edge of a breakdown, starting to gradually descend towards him. She barely got closer when three figures flew up, quickly approaching her. Ariana only looked at them once, feeling their powers were so weak she could barely believe they were flying and not some magic trick.

"Stop!" the first to arrive shouted, but his voice was clearly shaking, unsure at what was going on, feeling chilled to the bone.

"Don't throw your lives away." Ariana shook her head, waving his hand as black creatures manifested from the air, grabbing ahold of the three and dragging them down to the ground. Even though they howled and screamed in fear, it was mostly because their negative emotions were amplified under the hold of the weird demonic shades manifesting through Ariana's powers. She didn't even look at them as her feet touched down on the railing that Qin was holding with shaky hands.

"Are you here because you heard my wish?" he asked, looking at her without a shred of fear. Instead, he was filled with an immense, twisted joy.

"No. I am here to take you and every other royal family member away to Rozex." Ariana stood there calmly, looking into his eyes and getting a good read at his feelings. He was like an open book before her.

"To the City of White?" He tilted his head as he only heard about it from his father, who once visited it, calling it that since then.

"Why do you hate yourself this much?" Ariana hopped down from the railing, crouching down at the intoxicated Qin. He leaned backward, looking into Ariana's eyes, already free of any worry, accepting whatever was coming for him.

"Because I hate that I am powerless to do anything… and a coward who is afraid to even jump."

"You should stop! You are still too young to destroy yourself like this." She put her hand on the top of his head, gently caressing it and not just drawing out some of the alcohol from his body through his pores but most of the self-loathing. She managed to clear his mind considerably with only a move of her hands. "I'll take you to Rozex. What about your uncle? Should I take him as a hostage, too… or?"

"Kill him!" Qin answered after a brief pause, "I have no proof… but he was with my father the day he died in the chaos… yet he came back. But my father did not… neither did his guards."

"Works for me. Makes it easier for the future, too." she nodded leisurely, waving her hand as she grabbed a robe at the end of the room, throwing it at him, "Dress up!" Ariana ordered him with a stern voice, making Qin's body jump and obey without resistance. While he was dressing up, she rose to the air, dragging him along as blackish mist surrounded Qin's body.

"He is at the-" Qin tried to explain to Ariana, but she just tapped on his forehead, making him fall asleep. She was drawing out a slimy, black sludge that was his accumulated hate, desperation, and wrath inside him.

"Go!" Ariana whispered, blowing on it as it transformed into a red-eyed, two meters tall demonic shade, shrieking, flying down into the palace. Soon chilling screams resonated everywhere as everyone who was part of his uncle's group was massacred by the demon made out of Qin's feelings. Ariana did not even look back as she flew away, leaving the city, drawing back the unnatural darkness, and letting Kovartz bathe in the morning sun.

Later, the guards found that Qin's uncle was sitting on the throne, gutted utterly, leaving behind an emptied-out corpse. He was cut wide open from the chin down to his crotch, eyes wide open, still filled with horror. Everyone that was his supporter or a lackey of his gaining a position in the Kingdom, was seated before him, looking like they aged 100 years in an instant, mummifying in the process.

The scene was such a shock to the guards who found them. They did not even dare to touch any of the corpses. They left the palace in such a hurry that until the day Qin returned as the rightful King, nobody dared to set foot into the palace. They left everything as it was when Ariana took Qin away.

…
….
…..

As Ariana was quickly taking hold of the King of Pilta, above the capital city of the Olgor Kingdom, Keina was standing in the air, a bit shocked. Looking down, she was watching the city built on the shores of Calm Blue. The air carried the salty smell of the sea, now mixed in with a tinge of iron from the blood that was spilled on the narrow streets. When they arrived, the city's defense immediately kicked in, sounding alarms, a sign of the paranoid personality of their King. Yet it was not this that surprised the previous Spire Lord, but the ease that her valkyries cut through the appearing small, so-called "elite" guard force. When the Harmony experts came, her own people were pushed back a little at first, but Nuray took care of them in the end. Without her need for intervention to save them.

"Were we this strong all the time?" She asked herself, realizing her only opponents were always either other people from her "family" or Ren in the previous months. The last time she really went all out was when Rudrick became King, and she was beaten by him. Seeing that they were not wasting their lives cultivating, it finally brought back some needed courage and confidence in her and the other valkyries. "Time to work then…!" she took a deep breath as she flashed forward, and the streets where she traveled were frozen over, sticking the guards and the remains of any resemblance of the city's defensive force into place.

The city's royal courtyard was built on the shore, having its own private docks, beach, and a big, luxurious villa housing the now cowering royal family. Even with their cultivation level, they never really took part in any real fights. Risking the bloodline of the ruling family was unacceptable in their eyes. When Keina's feet touched the first patch of grass in the garden, even the water froze in the fountains hundreds of meters away from her. It was now sparkling in the morning sun like some exotic ice sculpture.

"The Naulins are going to have to explain themselves for this!" the remaining elite guard of the royal family stood against her. He was dressed casually, holding a sword that was coated in flames, breathing out white fog as he spoke to her.

"The 'Naulin Kingdom' is gone; didn't you hear the rumors?" Keina tilted her head to the side. "It was destroyed as I heard, coming here." she smiled a little as the news that was spreading on the outside was really funny for her. "That does not matter in the end! I am here to invite the royal family to the City of Rozex."

"Invite? Interesting word you got there for the carnage your people brought onto our city!"

"You should not attack immediately when guests come!" Keina shook her head, taking him a bit more seriously as he avoided eye contact with her, at least knowing about the Naulins' gift.

"Guests don't come armored!" The guard replied, swinging his blade, ending the conservation. Keina, deciding she had to test her powers, reached out with her fingers, covered in ice. She grabbed the flaming sword, quickly extinguishing the flames around it. Next, she just squeezed, breaking the metal apart like an icicle, disarming him with one move.

"I won't let you-" He roared, punching her, but he made the cardinal mistake of still looking at her. In that split second, their eyes met, and Keina's irises lit up with a strange light. He was immediately 'frozen' in place. Then, his eyes quickly went blank before his vision entirely disappeared.

"So I am not that weak..." Keina murmured, forming a small smile. The fact of her losses weighed heavily on her mind, but after trouncing someone... she finally felt good again. "Let's gather everyone and leave!" She shouted as her warriors also arrived by then.

When the guard captain returned to reality, he sat in a pool of melted water. "Damn…! I knew I should not look into a violet eye… never…! Yet...!" He cursed himself. Then came the second shock as he touched his body, not feeling any fatal wounds. "Why am I alive?" He murmured, looking around, but the courtyard was already emptied out. Same with the streets where survivors of the guard force were cleaning up the dead. "They… left like that?" He gawked. It did not take long to find out, searching through the courtyard, that every member of the royal bloodline was missing. "What is going on…" he groaned as panic started to bubble up inside of him. There was nobody left to make decisions… Even if someone steps up and takes the reins, will they hold onto it? Will they be seen as usurpers? What if the royal family comes back suddenly? What if they don't? Who is worthy of replacing them? Who is going to say who is not? The more he thought about it, the faster he was breathing, feeling dizzy, already wishing he would return to unconsciousness and be spared the coming chaos.